The federal government has set up special committees to provide advice on how highly-valuable quotas for importing eggs, chicken, turkey, hatching eggs and chicks and dairy products ought to be managed.
There are no consumer or public-interest groups on the committees which are dominated by marketing boards and processing companies.
Hardly anything is ever said about these committees and, in fact, when I recently asked, I was referred to four different federal bureaucracies and it took several weeks before I got an explanation from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Industry and Trade where the original request was directed.
The answer is that “the Tariff Quota Advisory Committees (TQACs) provide advice on technical issues regarding the administration of the tariff rate quota (TRQ) allocation system to the Minister of International Trade, through his officials.”
A quota entitles the holder to import either without a tariff or a very low level of tariff, meaning they can sell those imports at much higher Canadian market prices – often two to three times what they pay for the imports.
By now it should be no surprise to readers of this blog that people from both Burnbrae Farms and L.H. Gray and Son Ltd. sit on the egg committee.
“The committees are not expected to vote or to reach decisions. The Minister responsible for the Export and Import Permits Act retains full discretion to accept or reject any recommendations or proposals of any of the committees,” the DFAIT spokesman e-mailed.
“When the need arises, a meeting is called and each member chooses a representative. The last TQAC meeting was this past June and was regarding chicken. There is been no TQAC meeting concerning eggs in the last year.
“There are TQACs for the chicken and turkey, dairy, broiler hatching eggs and chicks, eggs and egg products, beef and veal, margarine and cheese.”
As an example, the committee for eggs has representatives from the Egg Farmers of Canada national agency, the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors of Canada, the Canadian Association of Regulated Importers, Agriculture and Agri Food Canada, the Farm Products Council of Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Canada Border Services Agency and Finance Canada.
